The Midnight Dreary of a Raven
by Loveable Bishounen
Summary: Precis tells her father some big news that he is not happy about. This was a school assignment in which I had to mock Hemmingway's style in 'Hills Like White Elephants'. Anyway, enjoy…


A large mansion stood on the base of a cliff. Inside the mansion was a young woman in her late teens, early twenties, and the man who brought her into this world. The two were seated in large recliners, facing each other. The young woman had her back to a roaring fireplace, the only source of light in the room. The light cast by the fire made the gaudy room a shade of crimson. The father, having the fireplace and his daughter in view, folded his hands and opened his mouth. 

"So… it's tomorrow…" The daughter ignored the remark and turned her head to the opened window. Through the window, several trees stood, each of which completely covered with leaves. On the edge of the window, hung a small box garden where the woman grew her favorite flower: lilies. Suddenly, a black bird rested on the edge of the garden box.

"Precis…" The father called. No response. "Precis!" The woman turned her head towards him.

"What?"

"You weren't paying attention."

"Why pay attention? What good could you say?"

The man gruffed his voice. His daughter lost a deal of respect for him ever since her mother left her father, but it was never this bad. When Precis told her father, Graft, her feelings, those emotions spread even more. Precis took her eyes off her father and looked at the black bird resting on the window. Upon her better look, she noticed it was a raven. The second Graft noticed Precis' wandering eyes, he became angry.

"Don't take your eyes off me!" Graft yelled, but Precis did not obey, nor listened, to him. Instead, she paid attention to the raven now fluttering into the mansion. Graft got out of his chair and walked up to his daughter.

"How could you do this?" The father got himself into the sights of his daughter and looked into her eyes. "You left home for a year with a group of strangers just because you wanted to, and now that you finally returned, not even a week ago, you tell me this news. You know thi…" A now absent-minded Precis noticed two more birds on the edge of the window, another raven and a white bird, possibly a dove. The raven from before was now resting on a table. The young woman drifted back in to her father speech. "… wrong with you? This is not something you should enjoy! How could you…? Maybe it was my fault for placing work above family."

For once, Precis agreed with her father. His over appreciation of work could explain this problem, along with her many others. "You're right about that." Graft was enraged by her comment and struck his daughter across the face. Precis, now had an eye towards her father, but had the other eye towards the three birds, whom were all now in the room.

"You've always been a horrible child; you've always ruined and destroyed my work and you never respected me. I have no f…" Precis was normally too happy-go-lucky to continue to listen to this pessimism and paid more attention to the three birds. The two birds rested on the same table as the previous raven. The raven noticed the dove and the raven, so it walked towards the two. The bird glanced towards the dove, but quickly turned its head and looked at the other raven. The bird walked over to the raven and spread it wings, in which the other raven soon mimicked. After a few seconds of flapping, the ravens flew off the table and onto a statue, leaving the dove all by itself. Precis tuned her father in once again. "…tch you call Opera!"

Opera… The woman's eyes widened upon hearing that name. "I knew that would get your attention." The father smirked, finally gaining some ability for his daughter to listen. "You're a sick person." Graft thought for a second. "I knew you've always been an esoteric girl; I even thought you got that from me, but this… where did you pick this up?"

Precis ignored that ignorant question and drifted her mind. The dove from before had long flown out the window and the two ravens sat on the statue for evermore.

"Answer me!" Graft demanded. Precis gave no response, that is, until Graft grabbed her by the collar and pushed his hands towards his daughter's neck in an attempt to choke her.

"It… it was happiness…I was happy by… the… to Opera." Precis spoke in sprits through her father choking grasp.

"Happiness…" Graft softly spoke, and Precis glanced at the two ravens. "This is not the way to be happy! It's wrong for this to make you happy!"

"What about science?" Precis spoke. "You absolutely love science, so much that you ignored the welfare of your wife and child. I remember when mother used to come to the point where she had to drug you so you would get some sleep. Do you think that you being this happy from science is alright? At least what I love doesn't endanger mine or any other's welfare."

Graft loosen his grip. He remembered how much he fought with his wife over science. He remembered when she made an ultimatum between her and science. He remembered when she packed her bags and left him and Precis for good. He remembered the depressing feeling he had when she slammed that door closed, but within a minute later, he was already working on his project again.

Graft closed his eyes and thought of his love of science compared to his daughter's love. Precis felt the sorrow going through her father.

"I may love science, but at least I'm not sick!" Precis signed, knowing her bias father will never understand and love her. "I'm going into the basement to work, so don't disturb me." Graft leaned towards her daughter, not to her a good night kiss, but to spit on her.

Graft turned his head from her daughter and walked towards the basement door. In his line of view, he noticed the two ravens on one of his statues. "Shoo!" Graft yelled as he waved his hand towards the birds. One of the ravens fluttered its wings, but did not move from the statue. "Damn birds…" Graft walked over to the statue. He stood in front of it and grabbed a club that was resting on the structure. With the rage bottled from his daughter, he swung the club as hard as he could and struck the statue with full force. The statue cracked and soon broke, dropping the two ravens with it. The ravens fell to the floor, but before they could do anything, a stone slab crushed the two. Graft, now satisfied, walked towards the basement door, opened it, and then slammed it shut.

Precis felt sorry for what just happened to the two birds. She wiped her father's saliva from her face with her sleeve. She laid back in her seat and thought of the one thing that made her happy… Opera.


End file.
